2004-11-24 11:08:44

by Pavel Fedin

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Subject: Licensing question

Hello!
I'm a member of AROS team (http://www.aros.org) and i'd like to ask for a permission to use parts of Linux source code (small parts) in developing this system. It is licensed under APL (http://www.aros.org/license.html) so i need a permission. I don't know where to ask for it so i ask here.
Currently i use a little part of ide-cd driver and its includes.

--
Best regards,
Pavel Fedin, mailto:[email protected]


2004-11-24 13:49:48

by linux-os

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Subject: Re: Licensing question

On Wed, 24 Nov 2004, Pavel Fedin wrote:

> Hello!
> I'm a member of AROS team (http://www.aros.org) and i'd like to ask for a permission to use parts of Linux source code (small parts) in developing this system. It is licensed under APL (http://www.aros.org/license.html) so i need a permission. I don't know where to ask for it so i ask here.
> Currently i use a little part of ide-cd driver and its includes.
>
> --
> Best regards,
> Pavel Fedin,
mailto:[email protected]

I think you will need to "inspect-to-learn", then write your own.
Don't just change the variable names.

Cheers,
Dick Johnson
Penguin : Linux version 2.6.9 on an i686 machine (5537.79 BogoMips).
Notice : All mail here is now cached for review by John Ashcroft.
98.36% of all statistics are fiction.

2004-11-24 14:09:54

by DervishD

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Subject: Re: Licensing question

Hi Pavel :)

* Pavel Fedin <[email protected]> dixit:
> Currently i use a little part of ide-cd driver and its includes.

I'm not a lawyer, and I'm not a GPL-expert, neither, but AFAIK,
if you use GPL code in your project, your code becomes GPLd too.

If you use ide-cd driver (or even a part of it), since it is GPL,
the code that uses it is GPL too. If Aros is not going to distribute
such source code, then Aros is not allowed to use GPL code.

Ask FSF for details.

Ra?l N??ez de Arenas Coronado

--
Linux Registered User 88736
http://www.dervishd.net & http://www.pleyades.net/

2004-11-24 14:53:33

by Jan Engelhardt

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Subject: Re: Licensing question


"Using" GPL stuff as say, a 3rd-party library, I dunno, but:

>> Currently i use a little part of ide-cd driver and its includes.

sounds like you copied it into your project and changed the license,
which clearly is not allowed.



Jan Engelhardt
--
Gesellschaft für Wissenschaftliche Datenverarbeitung
Am Fassberg, 37077 Göttingen, http://www.gwdg.de

2004-11-24 15:42:01

by Paulo Marques

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Subject: Re: Licensing question

Pavel Fedin wrote:
> Hello!
> I'm a member of AROS team (http://www.aros.org) and i'd like to ask for a permission to use parts of Linux source code (small parts) in developing this system. It is licensed under APL (http://www.aros.org/license.html) so i need a permission. I don't know where to ask for it so i ask here.
> Currently i use a little part of ide-cd driver and its includes.
>

From your license page, I can see that the license is based on the MPL
(Mozilla public license). If you check:

http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/license-list.html

the MPL is listed as a GPL incompatible license.

This means that either the APL solves the issues of the MPL so that it
is GPL compatible, or you have to ask the original authors permission to
use their code (which is usually complicated because there are usually a
lot of them...)

--
Paulo Marques - http://www.grupopie.com

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
Edmund Burke (1729 - 1797)

2004-11-24 15:44:33

by Steven Rostedt

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Subject: Re: Licensing question

On Wed, 2004-11-24 at 12:38 +0100, DervishD wrote:

> I'm not a lawyer, and I'm not a GPL-expert, neither, but AFAIK,
> if you use GPL code in your project, your code becomes GPLd too.
>
> If you use ide-cd driver (or even a part of it), since it is GPL,
> the code that uses it is GPL too. If Aros is not going to distribute
> such source code, then Aros is not allowed to use GPL code.

If you get the permission from the actual authors of the code you use
(in writing) then you don't need to follow the GPL, since the authors
can do whatever they want. But the problem here is, can you track down
all the authors of the said code to get them to write you a permission
slip?

> Ask FSF for details.

No need to, just ask the authors of the actual code being used.

-- Steve